


In Anger, In Pain (Lost and Found)

by lustig



Category: The Musketeers (2014)
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Caretaking, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-01
Updated: 2019-11-01
Packaged: 2021-01-16 09:55:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21269135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lustig/pseuds/lustig
Summary: Treville has disappeared, and Richelieu will do everything to get him back - and then, to get him back together again.





	In Anger, In Pain (Lost and Found)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [strawberriesandtophats](https://archiveofourown.org/users/strawberriesandtophats/gifts).

> This story is written for a prompt from [strawberriesandtophats](https://archiveofourown.org/users/strawberriesandtophats/pseuds/strawberriesandtophats) and [grabmotte](https://archiveofourown.org/users/grabmotte) \- [grabmotte](https://archiveofourown.org/users/grabmotte) asked for a story where Richelieu saves Treville (because usually it's the other way round), and [strawberriesandtophats](https://archiveofourown.org/users/strawberriesandtophats/pseuds/strawberriesandtophats) wanted something with a happy ending, a bit of shouting and a bit of kissing.
> 
> And who am I to not answer all these wonderful suggestions in one go.
> 
> Beta is the wonderful [liadt](https://archiveofourown.org/users/liadt).

Richelieu’s icy stare did not waver the whole time his uninvited guest kept talking. Usually, it unsettled solicitants to be scrutinised like this, to be stared at and be given his full attention.

But this one seemed to relish the focus on him, seemed to get more and more giddy the longer he talked, as he was coldly observed by the Cardinal.

“…so if you value the life of the Musketeer’s captain, you’d better hurry in complying to our… suggestions. After all, it would be a shame if something… _unfortunate_ were to happen to him and the King heard that you could have put a stop to it, don’t you think?” the purple-clad noble finished, fake-sweetly.

Treville had disappeared three full days ago and the King was already despairing and furious that all searches so far had not led to the desired result.

Richelieu lowered his head, as if contemplating the offer, but he was mostly trying to hide his clenched jaw. Before he could answer the outrageous request, one of his trusted guardsmen came into the room, his eyes snapping to the visitor before hurrying over to Richelieu.

The noble, his grin already far too pleased, turned away magnanimously and walked to the other end of the room. Giving Richelieu a little privacy and time to fume some more about his situation obviously made him happy.

“What is it?” the Cardinal snapped and his guard threw another look at the noble before whispering: “We found him, Your Eminence. He’s being brought to your doctor’s chambers while we are speaking.”

Richelieu froze all expression, taking a moment to sort through the sudden rush of emotions – hope, triumph, worry, anger – before taking a breath and allowing a cold smile to pass over his features.

“Thank you,” he murmured as quiet as his man had been seconds ago. “Please double the guards at every exit of this room and tell them to get ready to secure my _visitor_ on my command.”

The eyes of the guardsman grew cold, he gave one last glance at the visitor and slipped out of the room again. Unlike his Musketeers, Treville was well-loved by the Red Guard, especially the inner circle, the ones who knew how much trust Richelieu put in the Captain. Seeing the fury in his guard’s eyes told Richelieu more about the well-being of his lover than he would have liked to know.

“Well?” the noble asked once the door behind the messenger had closed again. “Do we have a deal?” He was completely unaware of the change in the room’s atmosphere.

“Will the Captain be unharmed?” Richelieu asked, partially because he needed to win some time for his guards to get into position and partially because he wanted to see how much of a liar the noble was, next to being greedy and unnecessarily pompous.

“He won’t be _permanently_ harmed,” the noble purred, his eyes alight with sadistic pleasure, “but you know how hard it is to deny bored jailers some fun.”

Richelieu was white with fury and, involuntarily, took a menacing step towards the noble.

“You’re taking this surprisingly personally, Eminence,” the offending party said, not budging even a little, instead dropping his voice to a threatening level. “What do you hide with this sworn enemy relationship of yours, while getting regular enough visits from Monsieur de Treville that he’s not even on guard enough to fend off some kidnappers on his way back from your Palais?”

Now the noble took a step forward, his eyes glinting.

“What is your answer, Cardinal? Deal or no deal?”

“Guards!”

The door sprang open, flooding the room with Red Guards, and sudden panic bloomed on the noble’s face.

“You can’t!” he yelped, his arms already being seized by the Cardinal’s men. “He’ll die if I’m not back by sunset! Eminence! He’ll die, you hear me? You’re killing hi–”

His words had become more frantic while being dragged away, until the very same guard that had come in earlier smacked him over the head with the hilt of his sword.

“Take me to the Captain,” Richelieu ordered. “And deal with this scum however you like best. I want _names_. Preferably by sunset.”

~*~

Everything hurt.

That was the first thing Treville realised when his mind drifted out of the soothing darkness unconsciousness had offered him.

The second thing was the absence of chains holding him in place.

That was an improvement to the last time he had been awake.

He was lying on his stomach on something comfortably soft and tried to push himself up and fell down with a pained wheeze a second later.

His back was _on fire_.

He tried to gulp for air, his view already blackening out again along the edges. Even now, lying as still as he could, the dull pulsating originating from his back made his eyes tear up, a wave of pain, ebbing away just to flare up again as soon as he believed he would get a moment’s reprieve.

And the more he thought about his back, the more it _burned_, eating away every other thought in his head, until nothing else was left.

“Jean,” he heard someone calling, far away. “Jean, calm down.”

Something cold touched his back, soothing some of the pain, and a sigh of relief escaped the Captain. Some of his muscles unclenched and a little more pain ebbed away.

A cup was pressed against his lips and the same soft voice ordered him to drink. He fell asleep soon after, calm and peace spreading through him, keeping the pain at bay.

~*~

The next time Treville opened his eyes it was pitch black around him.

A dull, humming pain nestled between his shoulders, but it was in no comparison to the raging wildfire from before he had fallen asleep.

He blinked himself awake, still not daring to move, and some of the darkness around him formed into shapes. It must have been late at night because even though the window’s curtains were open, there was next to no light falling into the room, and the more details he saw, the better he recognised his surroundings.

When he turned his head, he found what he was looking for. In an only marginally comfortable looking chair, Richelieu was sat, slightly sloping to one side. Treville couldn’t see his eyes, but the softness in the Cardinal’s whole posture let him believe his lover was actually asleep.

He smiled. It was very rare of Richelieu to show this much weakness, even around him. Treville could count the amount of times he had seen the Cardinal well and truly asleep on both hands.

Unwilling to wake his love, he simply kept looking at him, without a sound, without a move. With his eyes getting used to the darkness he was also able to see more details, like the way Richelieu’s long fingers were sprawled against his head to hold it upright in his sleeping position.

~*~

Treville must have dozed off again, because the sun was shining brightly into the room the next time he blinked his eyes open. The chair by his bedside was empty, but on the table was a cup of water, and even thought his back was hurting worse than during the night, he fought his way into an upright position, taking a big gulp of the cool refreshment.

Treville was bored. And if he didn’t want a repeat of the wildfire moment, he needed to distract himself.

With the help of the table he stood up, the room swimming sideways around him. Cold sweat broke out on his neck and he sat down again, the heavy movement pulling through his back like a flash of lightning.

It took a few minutes for the room to stop spinning and the droning in his ears to subside, and a few more before Treville started his second attempt to get up.

He was wearing a loose shirt, hanging low over his breeches, but he was unable to take it off to inspect the damage to his back in front of the small mirror. Every time he twisted his arms in a way that made his back move too much, the pain became too much to bear.

While he was staring frustrated at the silver in front of him, the door to the room opened.

Steps came in and stopped only a moment after stepping through.

“_What_ are you doing out of bed?” Richelieu hissed, crossing the distance between them in long strides after getting over his initial shock. “Lie down again, _now_, for _Christ’s_ sake!”

Treville, befuddled by the coldness in the Cardinal’s voice, formed his eyes into slits.

“Why –” he started, but saw the other man’s eyes, wide with fear he tried to suppress, and meekly sat down again on the bed.

Richelieu relaxed, but not much, and advanced cautiously towards the Captain.

“You shouldn’t be up yet, not for the next one or two days. Not until my doctor has cleared you.”

“But I feel –”

“If you say _fine_, I will tell him to dose you with more opium to keep you asleep until it is safe to wake you again! You can’t risk opening the whip marks now that they have started healing, if they get infected –”

“Whip marks?”

Treville blanched, automatically trying to feel his back below the shirt, trying to feel –

“Don’t, please.”

Richelieu sounded so desperate in his request, Treville complied to his wishes without further fight. The memories of his imprisonment were hazy at most, but he remembered darkness and searing, searing pain. Laughter.

“What happened?” he finally managed to press out, “How long have I been gone?”

“Some noble tried to use you as leverage in a bargain, but I – we found you before the deal had to be accepted. That was two days ago. You were gone for three before that.”

Richelieu was pacing, finally stopping in front of a window.

“The noble and all his henchmen have been taken care of.”

“You’ve killed them? Armand, you can’t –”

“I can and I will!” Richelieu looked like an injured cat. “They dared to touch _you_!”

Treville opened his mouth, looking for an angry retort, when the fight suddenly drained out of his lover.

“The noble was executed this morning, he was from a minor family and Louis was all too glad to have someone he could pour his upset into. The rest are still in the Bastille and a few smaller prisons, awaiting trial. I know you wouldn’t have liked me getting rid of them the same way they planned on doing with you.”

Treville was silent after that, thoughtful, but less angry.

“You saved me,” he finally whispered, tension bleeding out of him.

Richelieu stepped back towards the bed, towards the Captain.

“Of course I did,” he stated and Treville saw how tired the Cardinal looked, how exhausted.

The Captain rose from his sitting position, despite the blooming protest in Richelieu’s features, and gently stepped towards the Cardinal, cradling his face in his calloused hands.

“Thank you,” he simply said, stretched a little, the pain all but forgotten, and kissed him softly.


End file.
